Santorini Archaeological Sites

Two great civilizations have left their mark on Santorini: one belongs to prehistoric times and is apparent in what has been coming to light in the excavations at Akrotiri. The other is a Greek civilization represented by the ancient city located on Mesa Vouno.

Prehistoric Thera: Akrotiri

The ancient city at Akrotiri is not just the most important archaeological site on the island. But, thanks to its excellent state of preservation and the wealth of finds it has yielded, it is also the most important prehistoric settlement found anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. Akrotiri could be characterised as the prehistoric Pompeii of the Aegean.

Ancient Thera: Mesa Vouno

The strategic position of the area attracted the Lacedaemonian colonisers of the island who founded their city utilizing the limestone rock of Mesa Vouno as a natural fortress. From the 9th century B.C. until the spread of Christianity, the city of Mesa Vouno was the only urban centre of the island.

The use of Theraic land by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps for the insulation of the Suez Canal lead to the discovery of prehistoric antiquities (1866), marking the beginning...Read the full article by Christos Doumas